Fish Wrap: Plenty of Albacore to be had off the coast

IN THE CLEAR blue waters just beyond the edge of the continental shelf, 20 miles beyond the Farallones, where the temperature jumps by several degrees to 60-something degrees, albacore are the hottest ticket in town. No one may know just how many of the tuna are swimming here under the surface — but at least six of them struck at once when the anglers aboard the party boat Salty Lady of Sausalito first dropped their lines on Friday at about 7 a.m. And just like that, as easy as the sunrise, the day of fishing burst wide-open like a bomb.

"The reels had the clickers on, and it was like a chorus as the fish went running," said San Rafael angler Greg Williams, who landed a 20-pound albacore within minutes of dropping his line. "We had six fish on at once, and it was chaos. Everyone was having a blast."

Lines got tangled, a few leaders snapped, and several fish broke away. But one tuna at a time, the albacore began to pile aboard. One man — Trent Slate, who runs a party boat in Shelter Cove — was casting a heavy iron spoon off the bow of the boat. After allowing the lure to sink 60 feet down, he would then jig it up to the surface.

"I swear, he had a fish almost every cast," Williams said. "Someone would gaff it for him, and then within a minute he'd have another fish on. He was an absolute joy to watch."

Thirty tuna were landed, and a dozen others lost, in that first skirmish. Throughout the rest of the day, fishless lulls of 30 minutes would pass like waves, providing a few moments of rest and relaxation between the frenzies and multiple hookups.

By the time captain Roger Thomas called in the lines and aimed the bow for home at about 4 p.m., the boat had landed 51 albacore — an average catch of about four fish a head for the 12 anglers. Williams, who landed three, walked away with a 25-pound sack of tuna fillets — pink, translucent meat of the sort that draws $5 a bite in sushi bars. He gave most of it away — donating much of his catch to the San Rafael-based organization Meals of Marin, which supports people fighting HIV and cancer.

Don't feel like motoring 50 miles to the tuna grounds? Then salmon is your game, and along the Marin coast the bite has been as fast — or almost, anyway — as the fish are big. Boats have been scoring a fish per rod to limits for weeks, with the salmon often averaging 15 to 25 pounds. On Wednesday, the party boat fleet from Sausalito put in a full day's effort to score about a fish per rod. The Salty Lady returned to port that afternoon with 10 salmon to 20 pounds and a 22-pound halibut for seven fishermen.

On Tuesday, the Hog Heaven produced two-fish limits of salmon for its six passengers, with fish to 25 pounds, while on the same day the New Rayann and the Outer Limits came in with just over a salmon per rod. Such has been the action since July, and trolling is still producing the most fish — and it's all happening from Muir Beach to Duxbury Reef.

In the San Francisco Bay, the best reported score of late came from the Happy Hooker party boat of Emeryville, which took 18 limits of striped bass fishing in San Pablo Bay on Sunday. Otherwise, anglers are scratching away for scattered striped bass and halibut.

He says consistent, if sluggish, action can be found along the Tiburon Peninsula shoreline and at the Brothers and the Sisters islands for those drifting live shiners. Salmon passing through the straits at the California City fishing spot are also the cause of some hype — though many bay outings these days amount to little more than sightseeing trips.

All of which means, if you're fishing outside the Golden Gate this weekend, you can probably plan your barbecue now — but if you've got a bay trip scheduled, call your dinner a potluck, because you just might get skunked.